The present invention is concerned with an inwardly straddling type disc brake, in particular for automotive vehicles, including a brake disc carried at its outer rim, a stationary brake support member having two substantially radially extending arms which are interconnected by a connecting portion extending substantially in a circumferential direction, and a brake housing which is axially slidably supported at the brake support member. The brake housing is actuable by an actuating device and embraces the inner rim of the brake disc. The housing includes two radially extending legs and a substantially axially extending bridge portion connecting the two radial legs. A first brake pad is disposed and supported on one side of the brake disc, in particular in the brake support member. Pressure applied directly to the first pad by the actuating means. A second brake pad is disposed and supported on the other side of the brake disc, in particular on the brake housing, and which is acted upon by a respective one of the radial legs of the housing.
A disc brake of this type is disclosed in the pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 759,402. In that particular disc brake, the connecting portion of the support member is disposed between the two radially extending arms of the brake support member radially outwardly, that is, above the radial leg of the brake housing which includes the actuating means. A shortcoming of that arrangement lies in that a relatively large mounting space is required in the supporting zone in the radial direction. In applications where such mounting space is not available, the brake disc diameter must be reduced accordingly thereby sacrificing the advantages of the inwardly straddling type construction and in particular the large brake disc diameter afforded by such construction.